Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading Up 4.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares rose 4.6% to $8.16 on Tuesday with ~46.7M shares traded, leaving the stock below its 50‑day ($8.71) and 200‑day ($12.43) moving averages and a market cap of about $3.1B.
• Marathon missed quarterly expectations badly, reporting EPS of ($4.52) vs. ($0.23) expected and revenue of $202.3M vs. $250.7M, with a negative net margin (144.6%) and negative ROE (19.0%).
• Analysts are mixed — the average rating is Hold with a $20 average target despite recent cuts from firms like Piper Sandler, Cantor Fitzgerald and Morgan Stanley, while insiders have been selling (CEO and CFO sales among 114,515 shares over three months).

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.20 and last traded at $8.16. 46,728,562 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 47,695,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MARA shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Digital from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Marathon Digital from $21.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.43. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 5.51.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($4.29). The business had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 144.58%.Marathon Digital's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $252,495.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,788,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,962,597.72. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $146,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 343,165 shares in the company, valued at $3,150,254.70. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 114,515 shares of company stock worth $1,029,678. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,706,277 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $419,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394,559 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,455,176 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $210,977,000 after purchasing an additional 191,380 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 104.1% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $220,922,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172,110 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc boosted its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 10,137,713 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,037,000 after purchasing an additional 259,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Digital by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,957,766 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $89,434,000 after purchasing an additional 251,674 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Marathon Digital

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc is a digital asset technology company specializing in the mining and acquisition of bitcoin. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the firm employs high-performance application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners and proprietary software to secure the Bitcoin network and expand its crypto-mining footprint. Marathon Digital focuses on operational efficiency and scalability, while maintaining rigorous standards for regulatory compliance and corporate governance.

The company operates multiple large-scale mining facilities throughout North America, including sites in Texas, Montana and New York.

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